Virtual reality gaming headset hits Kickstarter

Mark Raby, 2nd August 2012

Another day, another Kickstarter darling is hitting the scene.
A designer by the name of Palmer Luckey put up a project for what is promised to be "the first truly immersive virtual reality headset for video games."

It's something of a Virtual Boy for the 21st century, with a diagonal field view of 110 degrees, 3D panoramic viewing functionality, and a strap that allows the device to fit freely on the player's head, bringing him or her truly into the experience.

The gadget is called the Oculus Rift, and its Kickstarter page admits that "the consumer version of the Rift is still a ways down the road."

However, this isn't just some fly-by-night idea from a random person. The Oculus Rift has garnered support from high-ranking industry experts; we're talking about people who really know the technology of games.

John Carmack of id Software, Gabe Newell of Valve, and Cliff Bleszinski of Epic Games have all come forward to support the project. You honestly couldn't ask for a better stamp of approval than that.

And apparently all of that was good enough for investors to come in on the project in droves. It was set up with an already ambitious $250,000 goal but that was smashed in one day.

And yes, we mean smashed. More than $800,000 in pledges came through within about 24 hours. There's still 29 days to go. You can check it out right here.